Chapter XIX

The Broken Sword (Part I)

'Heero…'

He frowned lightly as he tried to locate the whisperer. It did not take much effort to spot Duo Maxwell hiding behind the railing somewhere half-way up the stairs. 'What is it, Maxwell?' he asked as his gaze returned to the horizon.

'Shhh!' the braided man waved his hands in front of him, climbing the rest of the steps as quietly as possible when he noticed Jay and Lowe were not around. He made an enormous effort not to swear when he nearly tripped on Shadow, then motioned the helmsman closer, but Heero merely raised an eyebrow at him, forcing Duo to cross the remaining distance between them. 'Ye could cooperate, couldn't ye?' he hissed annoyed. 'Leave that helm for two fucking seconds?' when he received no reaction whatsoever he sighed and shook his head exasperated. 'What's gotten into ye? Never mind. Won't ye come down for a piece? We're holdin' a meetin'.'

'It does not concern me.'

'Come on, Heero… Just 'cause Lena decided to stay behind doesn't mean the world's over. We're rich!' It stung. The sudden reminder of her was like a recently healed wound torn open, but the helmsman did not let it show, he did not let it register within him and simply refused to let the pain affect him. Heero had not meant to anger or provoke him in any way, but his lack of response still fed the braided pirate's annoyance. 'Fine!' he spat. 'Ye won't be missed anyway.' He turned to leave, but paused, glancing over his shoulder seriously. 'Just donae tell Lowe… Or Jay.'

He did not wait for an answer as he left Heero behind and made his way back to the sleeping quarters where the others were gathered in a resemblance of a circle. Wufei raised his head as soon as Duo appeared on the stairs and frowned when he noticed the helmsman was not with him. 'What took ye?'

'I tried, but he wouldnae listen…' the braided pirate shrugged unhappily. 'And I couldn't yell at 'im with Lowe and Jay in the captain's cabin.'

'Spare us yer excuses, Maxwell.' The Chinese man interrupted him, earning himself a vicious glare. 'We've got to make a plan before Lowe and Jay notice we've abandoned our posts.'

'But if Heero won't—' Hilde began, but Wufei cut in yet again.

'Yuy'll come 'round once Lowe's no longer the one giving the orders. Now, let's discuss what truly matters… All those in favour of a mutiny say "aye".'

Every pirate raised his or her hand with the exception of the Maganacs whose loyalties, at the moment, were torn between the men who had recruited and helped them find their young master and Quatre himself. Still, they were minority and the result of the pirates' voting put the smallest of smiles on the Chinese man's lips.

'We already knew we were mutinying…' Dorothy informed him haughtily. 'The real question is how.'

Wufei snorted, his eyes narrowing dangerously at her. 'It's the how that's obvious. There's only two of them and twelve of us.'

'Ye're forgettin' they've got Heero.' Trowa reminded with a worried frown.

'So? They're three then. We're still twelve.'

But the Chinese man's confidence did not seem to convince the others. 'Heero's changed, Chang.' Duo shook his head sadly, his tone grave, and Hilde squeezed his arm worriedly, forcing him to meet her eyes with a forced smile.

'He's got nothin' to lose.' Sally commented quietly. 'Or, at least, that's how he sees things.'

'Besides… He's one of our own.' Quatre added, horrified by the prospect of fighting a comrade.

Wufei huffed in exasperation. 'Fine. We'll capture Yuy and kill the others.'

'Are we really going to kill them?' the blonde man asked uncomfortably. 'Just like that?'

'They won't go down without a fight. It's not as if we were executing them.'

'What if they do go down without a fight?' Dorothy questioned, arching an eyebrow. 'From what I've learned about those two… They're nothing but unpredictable.'

'There's no tellin' what they'll do.' Howard agreed.

'Well, then… If they surrender, we lock them up and exile them when we find a small cosy deserted island… Small enough they'll be forced to kill each other.'

'Why not just take them both back to where we found Jay?' Hilde asked matter-of-factly.

'We will decide on that later.' Quatre cut in, his words rushed and his tone wary. 'For now we need to go back to our posts.'

'But when's it going down?' Duo asked hurriedly.

'Let's wait a couple o' days… To make sure they're not planning somethin'.'

'Ye think Heero'll rat us out?' the black haired woman questioned the Chinese man anxiously.

'Nay.' It was Trowa who answered. 'Heero may not be on our side right now, but 'e ain't on theirs either. Not completely.'

'He's right.' Chang gave a nod of agreement. 'Yuy's not very big on talking and that certainly hasn't changed.'

'It really hasn't.' the braided pirate agreed with an annoyed frown. 'If anythin' 'is muteness's become worse.'

'Then it's settled. We meet again the day after tomorrow, hopefully to put our plan into action and knock our dear captain off 'is high horse.'

XXX

Milliardo finished his letter with Relena standing in front of his desk. He did not need to look to know there was a determined frown on her face. She simply refused to give up, even as weeks passed by without any hope of her ever finding the Peacemillion and her crew again. Her brother could not honestly blame her for he was a stubborn individual himself. In fact, he admired her resilience and knew, as soon as she had walked into the study, what she had come to say… Or ask rather.

He signed the document with a flourish and raised his eyes to meet hers. 'Yes, Relena?'

'I hear you're setting sail.' She went straight to the point just as he had expected.

'Yes… In a fortnight or so.'

'I wish to accompany you.'

Her resolution was admirable. She was clearly not asking for his permission even though she'd phrased it almost as if she were. Relena was a born diplomat much like himself and Milliardo knew if he denied her she would go over him and straight to Treize. He also knew his superior would be extremely amused and more than willing to abide to his sister's whims.

'Do you even know where we're headed?'

'Back to the New World certainly. If I had to guess I'd say Port Royal. That's where your wife is, isn't it?'

'Yes.' He could have laughed at her wit, if there hadn't been the slightest edge of desperation to her voice. She feared his answer, feared she would never find those pirates again. 'You may accompany us this time, but it shall be the last. When we get there you'll be free to look for the Peacemillion. I won't stop you, though I'd rather you stayed with Lucrezia. Regardless of what you decide to do, however, you'll be welcome in our house if ever you change your mind.'

'Thank you, Milliardo.' She said and a genuine smile curved her lips. He waved her away, searching his desk top for an envelope to place his letter, but she made her way around the table to throw her arms around him. It was so unexpected, he didn't even react, merely clearing his throat when she pulled away, hiding his embarrassment.

'I'll let you know the exact date once I've been informed.'

Relena nodded and left. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly hopeful and she could barely wait to see Heero again.

XXX

Lowe knew they were going to mutiny. He was no fool, he had been a pirate his whole life and that was a long enough time for him to learn exactly how things worked at sea. He and Jay did not stand a chance, he knew. They never had from the moment they let his son and his crew back onto the ship, but he wanted to test Heero, he needed to. So he called the helmsman into his cabin to instruct him. Jay was there as well, ever anxious to witness the results of a lifetime of hard work.

'Yer friends are planning to turn against us.' He started, pacing around the room as Heero watched impassively from the door. If the captain were entirely honest, he would admit even he was irked by the soulless look in those dark eyes, so he purposefully avoided them. 'Ye surely already know that, but… We expect ye to defend us.'

Heero's eyes narrowed a fraction. He could see behind Lowe, behind Jay, could see their real intentions. The odds were against them… Or against him as it was. Completely and undeniably. What they wanted was to see if he was willing to kill his friends and risk his life for them. They thought the others would never dare kill him, but he knew Chang would. He actually wanted him to. Otherwise he would have to do it himself before the emptiness consumed him.

He nodded his acquiescence and left. It was sensible, the tension in the air, and Heero expected the others to act that very night. Maybe even sooner. Their advantage was so obvious he saw no logical reason why they would need to wait at all, but then he did not understand why they had postponed their mutiny for so long. Were they waiting for him to change his mind? Did they expect him to take action? Did they perhaps believe he had some kind of secret plan he had been unwilling to share?

His hand played with the handle of the pistol on his waistband. If he fired at Chang he would win in a second and with certainty, and that was not what he wanted. It was not what the Chinese man wanted either. He wanted a fair fight. Heero wanted a way out.

To think of the end brought a flash of Relena to his mind, but he snuffed it out quickly and with the ease conquered only through constant practice. What a fool he was. It had taken him an awfully long time to stop thinking about his mother as well, but he had been a child then. Now, he was a grown up man and yet… He had let another woman bring it all back to the surface. Perhaps it was for the best things had ended before he could fall any deeper or get himself any more wrapped around her finger.

He held the helm in tightened white fists as he steered the Peacemillion towards Tortuga. From his post he watched the crew disappear, quietly and discreetly, heading to yet another meeting. They clearly no longer cared whether they were found out or not, they were confident and with good reason. Heero did not bother thinking about what would come, he did not worry. There was no cause to.

It did not take long for one of them to reemerge. It was Duo. Trowa followed a moment later though he kept a significant distance from the braided man. Heero watched the blabbermouth make his way towards him and his eyes narrowed. Their plan was as clear to him as if he had been at the meeting. Chang would not have sent Maxwell ahead if he did not mean to distract and capture him. If he had meant to fight and kill him he would have come himself. Barton was probably only there for backup… Quatre's idea no doubt. The blonde man was ever cautious.

'Ahoy, Heero!' the braided man greeted him. 'A nice day to sail, eh? Clear skies, calm seas and a cool breeze. Ye think Lowe'll bother to step out at all? It ain't like 'e need t' bother, aye? With ye here to lead us home and the rest of the crew to keep the ship going…'

He barely paid Duo any mind until the man made his move, throwing an arm around his neck as his other hand reached for Heero's arm. The helmsman ducked, spinning on one foot and using his other leg to take the other man's feet off from under him. As he stood back up, he found Trowa's pistol aimed at him, he grabbed his own and fired without a thought, disarming the lookout, and pinned Maxwell to the deck with a booted foot before the man could make a move to sit up. There was no time to reload the pistol so he dropped it and drew his cutlass.

'I should've known we'd 'ave to kill ye.' Chang's voice cut in, but the sound of his own sword sliding off his sash was louder.

'Chang…' Trowa tried to argue as the Chinese man walked past him, but Wufei would have none of it.

'He's no longer the Heero who helped us, Barton. That one's already dead. I'm just going to relieve us of the imposter.' As he reached the quarter deck, his narrowed eyes met the helmsman's cold ones. 'Maxwell, don't ye dare interfere.'

Duo took a deep breath and pushed himself up as soon as their former captain's foot left his chest. He watched Heero step forward, his blade clashing tentatively against Chang's as if he were just accepting the challenge. The Chinese man responded by giving the first real strike of their duel followed by a series of swings which were all parried by his adversary.

The rest of the crew slowly emerged from the lower deck both curious and wary. They watched the fight from the main deck, hanging on to every swing of the clashing cutlasses. Jay and Lowe remained hidden in the captain's quarters. Sally was the only one who dared make her way closer, cautiously, and she saw it clearly when the helmsman spun the wrong way, she noticed how planned, how intentional the move was…

The Chinese man's sword froze short of grazing Heero's throat and every pirate on board seemed to hold their breath expectantly. Chang's jaw clenched. He had bragged about the fact that he could kill the other man, that he was the only one with enough heart – or lack thereof – to follow through with it, but when it came down to dealing the final blow… It was not what he wanted. 'Do ye yield?'

For a moment there was silence as the audience seemed to be unable to release their breath, but then Heero's armed hand rose and Sally shouted. 'Wufei!' The black haired man jumped backwards just in time to avoid the horizontal slice that would have cut his stomach open. 'He wants ye to kill 'im!' the medic warned and the rest of the crew could be heard running up the steps to the quarter deck.

Chang met his adversary's eyes as he regained his breath. The helmsman was completely focused, his every move perfectly calculated and not a single drop of sweat on his brow. He breathed calmly, evenly, unnoticeably and the Chinese man was profoundly annoyed by that fact. Jay and Lowe seemed to have accomplished what they had set out to do whereas he had failed. Heero had overcome his feelings and emotions while he could not bring himself to end his greatest rival… One of his closest friends.

'Seize him.' It was Dorothy who ordered, surprisingly, tuning towards the tall burly Rashid and his men, who – in turn – sought Quatre's permission. The blonde man nodded, stepping in to prevent the Chinese man from stopping them, but Chang no longer felt like fighting.

'This isn't Yuy.' He said shaking his head.

'I thought ye'd already said that.' Duo reminded him miserably.

'He didn't believe the words himself.' Quatre explained quietly and sympathetically.

Heero knew he did not stand a chance against the lot of them… Struggling would do naught but wound him, and he did not wish to hurt any one either, so he let the Arabian man push him to his knees while two others seized his arms and Trowa respectfully relieved him of his weapon. He let his head fall wearily. It did not matter what happened to him. Through his bangs he saw Jay and Lowe step out of the captain's chambers and he almost smirked at the realisation that they had failed with him after all, but the thought did not make him happy… He had wanted them to succeed.

'He didn't kill a single one after all…' the captain observed with a grimace.

The white haired man merely sighed and shook his head resignedly. 'I wonder where it was that we erred…'

'I'll tell ye where ye erred…' Duo stepped up to the pegleg, a knife in his hand. 'Ye took away his woman, but not his mates. Ye could never get rid of all of us.'

'It wasn't us who took the lass away.' Lowe immediately corrected him. 'She chose to stay. She decided Heero wasn't worth it.'

'Shut yer pie hole, Lowe.' The quiet lookout raised his spare pistol, levelling it with the captain's head. The others gapped at him, but he pointedly ignored them. 'I missed once… On a dark stormy night, but it's a sunny afternoon today.'

'What's he talking about?' Dorothy asked Quatre in an indignant whisper.

'I have no idea…' he shook his head confused and slightly horrified. He had his suspicions, of course, but he did not think it was the right time to share them. 'Never heard that one tale.'

Lowe chuckled wholeheartedly. 'Indeed…' he paused, growing serious. 'Will ye shoot an unarmed man, Mr Barton? On second thought… If I remember right, last time ye shot me I was inebriated as well as unarmed…'

'Ye killed 'er…' Trowa accused him, justifying his actions at the same time.

'Aye… Though, actually, I had her killed. But let us not discuss semantics, eh? That hardly matters any more.'

'Nay… But Catherine's death still does.'

'If I may opinate then… I'd like Heero to do the honours.'

'No one's shooting any one.' Chang stepped in. 'Take them to the brig. Ye don't deserve the easy way out… Neither of ye do. So until we've decided what's to become of ye, ye'll stay with the bilge rats.'

Trowa reluctantly holstered his pistol while Duo, Hilde, Howard and Sally led their former captain and former first mate to the lower decks. It was hard for him to reign in his anger and frustration. He had believed his sister avenged, but then Lowe had come back from the dead and now he had been denied the pleasure of truly doing Catherine justice. Not that he did not agree with Chang's arguments… He could feel the Chinese man understood his position as much as Trowa did his, and so the black haired man walked away, leaving him alone to gather his bearings.

Wufei approached their restrained crewmate. 'Let 'im go.' He told the Maganacs. 'Right now, he's a bigger danger to himself than to the rest of us.'

Heero grimaced at himsef, at what he had become, but then quickly snorted and stood, meeting Chang's eyes impassively. 'Are ye naming yerself captain?'

'Is that what ye want?'

'It's really none of my business.'

'Nay, it really ain't.' they stared at each other for a long tense moment. 'What would ye have me do? Send ye to the brig with yer kin? Or make ye swabbie?'

'You can't do that!' Dorothy protested, earning raised eyebrows from both men. 'He's our rightful captain!'

'There ain't no such thing as a rightful captain.' The Chinese man informed her.

'I demand a vote.'

'She's right, Chang.' Quatre stepped forward, his eyebrows furrowed. 'Voting's the best way to do this.'

'Voting… Aye.' He conceded and paused to watch as the rest of the crew made their way back to the quarter deck. His eyes met Heero's again. 'Ye don't wish to be captain.' It was not a question, but he earned a shrug for it eitherway.

'He needs to be captain.' Dorothy whispered in the blonde strategist's ear. 'He needs a purpose.'

'I know.' Quatre replied and squeezed her hand thankfully. He felt grateful to have an ally for once, someone who shared his point-of-view, who would fight with him side-by-side.

'But will he be the same captain he was before?' Rashid inquired conveniently.

Quatre did not know what to say to that, but he did not know what would become of the Peacemillion if someone else took over the captaincy. 'Trowa?' he turned to the lookout when the green-eyed man finally decided to join them.

'He deserves a second chance.'

'Aye.'

'So…' Chang started once they were all gathered and fully attent. 'Let us choose our new captain. Yuy?'

'I abstain.' The man said simply, putting a scowl on the Chinese man's face.

'Maxwell?'

'I… Uh…' caught off guard, the braided man turned from Chang to Heero to Hilde and then Quatre. 'I haven't a fucking idea.'

'I vote for Howard.' Howard himself said, raising his hand.

'That's one vote for Howard.' The Chinese man said with a barely repressed sigh. 'Barton?'

'I vote for Yuy.'

'So do I.' said Quatre stepping forward.

'And I.' Dorothy added mimicking him.

'Well…' Chang sniggered. 'Schbeiker?'

'I'm sorry, Chang, but Heero took me in… I have to vote for 'im.'

'I vote for Wufei.' Sally said, knowing her vote would probably make no difference, but to remind her not-so-secret lover that she would always support him, no matter what.

'The four of us also vote for Chang.' Rashid said suddenly, gesturing with his outstretched arm to include the other Maganacs. Silence descended over the deck as surprise took over the crew. Heero's mouth twitched upwards reflexively at the Chinese man's wide-eyed look.

Finally, after a long moment, Chang shook his head and smirked widely. 'I vote for Yuy.'

Duo choked on air as Hilde exchanged a confused look with him. Sally's eyebrows knitted while Rashid's rose. Quatre had an almost painful frown on his face as he tried and failed miserably to understand what had just happened. Dorothy and Howard merely waited while Auda and Abdul whispered to each other.

No one was more shocked than Heero. For a moment, he even felt himself lose balance. 'Why?' he asked hoarsely as if the sudden turn of events had physically wounded him.

The Chinese man shrugged however seriously. 'I 'ave me reasons.' He said mysteriously, but it was Sally's eyes he met.

'So?' Howard urged them. 'All ye did was tie everything up.'

'Care to change yer vote then, old man?' Chang sneered.

'Maxwell didn't vote. Why don't ye ask him?'

The braided man found himself on the tightrope yet again. 'Howie, ye lout!' he hissed before turning to the candidates. 'Well, I don't get why ye voted for Heero, Chang, and ye won't tell us… So I gather it means ye no longer wish to be captain.'

'Yuy doesn't wish to be captain either.' One of the Maganacs said, he could not tell which.

Duo shrugged. If neither of them wanted to be captain then that information was as good to him as a dead rat. 'Ye won't tell us why ye changed yer mind and that irks me to no end… So I vote for Heero.'

'Yer orders, Captain?' Wufei turned to their reinstated leader.

Heero hesitated for a moment, unsure of what that development meant for him or how it made him feel, but at last he seemed to reencounter within himself the calling to be captain, or simply the disposition to resume his position. 'Return to yer posts. We sail 'til sunset. There's much to be planned afterwards, before we set sail again… Tomorrow.'

XXX

Relena made her way to the bowsprit as soon as her brother ordered the anchors to be raised. It was early morning and the first sunrays painted the dark waters' surface a blinding white. She inhalled deeply, closing her eyes and willing the breeze to calm her. As days went by, then weeks – without a word, without news of Heero, her friends or the Peacemillion – her hope had started to wane. Where once there were confident and cheerful thoughts, now doubts and uncertainties had started to take root. Would she ever find them? Would she ever see them again? What if Heero refused to talk to her? What if things could never be the same again? Jay and Lowe, whatever their plan had been, must have made her look like quite the traitoress.

Steps sounded on the forecastle, booted steps, and Relena awaited for her brother to speak. He never did. 'Lady Une!' she exclaimed, turning to find not Milliardo, but Treize's wife beside her.

The older woman could not help but chuckle at her surprise and the obvious lilt in her voice. 'Feels good not to be the only female on board, does it not? I know the feeling.'

'You must have been through countless voyages.'

'A few.' Une nodded thoughtfully. 'Certainly not as many as you think. I'd even risk saying you've probably spent more time at sea than I.'

Relena flushed pleasantly and yet – for some reason – she also felt embarrassed. She was no longer a lady of the likes of the one that now stood beside her, but neither was she a pirate. It was as if she had abdicated of her place in the world, given up on all the good things anyone had ever offered her, made little of the love of those she cared for. 'In the long run you'll probably surpass me.'

Brown eyes widened slightly at her. 'Do you not intend to return to the Peacemillion? I was under the impression that that was your sole reason to embark on this voyage.'

'I…' she paused not knowing how to reply to that and turned back to the widening ocean ahead. 'It is. Or was… I no longer know.'

Lady Une's piercieng gaze remained locked on her, her eyebrows knitting slowly. 'Why the change of heart?' she questioned quietly, sympathetically, and caught the younger woman off guard.

She immediately thought of Heero and could not help the smile that twisted her lips. 'It's not a change of heart.' She corrected, knowing her love for him still burnt within her warm and bright, imagining what he would have looked like had she made it to the Peacemillion in time to rejoin him that fateful night and told him of her feelings. Then she grew serious. 'I'm afraid…' she confessed. 'I fear they will turn me down, send me away… They think I changed my mind, that I chose a comfortable, luxurious life over them.'

'You cannot blame them for thinking that.' The older woman commented, watching the sun rise lazily. 'Most of them have probably spent their lives dreaming of having a life like yours.'

Relena sighed. 'I know.'

'Don't you think, at the very least, they'll give you a chance to explain?'

'I'm sure some of them will.'

'It's the others you're worried about.' Lady Une smiled knowingly. 'Or a particular other…'

'I…' she blushed lightly, neither comfirming nor denying anything.

'Would you really give up without even trying? Is this pirate not worth the effort?'

'He is!' her answer was immediate, impulsive… and honest. The older woman could see as much.

'Then do not let your fears and uncertainties hold you back.' Lady Une turned to leave. 'I never let mine.' She added, her eyes already fixed on the captain who stood with Milliardo by the helmsman, his hands behind his back and his chest puffed up proudly.

'I won't.' Relena said quietly. The other woman could no longer hear her, but somehow she felt Heero would.